by Alan Quick

CREDITON shops and businesses were approached this week to take part in a scheme whereby free tap water is made available to those who ask for it.

The Refill scheme is an initiative designed to reduce plastic pollution and promote healthy hydration by making refilling a water bottle easy, social and rewarding!

This week it was being promoted by the Sustainable Crediton Waste Action Group.

Members of the group visited many shops and businesses to ask them to sign up to the scheme.

Participating cafes, bars, restaurants, banks, shops and other businesses display a round, blue sticker in their window, inviting thirsty passers-by to come on in and fill up their bottle – for free.

Melissa Harvey, a co-ordinator with CAG (Community Action Groups) Devon, who took part in trying to sign up Crediton businesses as Refill stations, said: “The aim is to reduce the amount of plastic bottles ending up in our oceans, whilst keeping you healthy, hydrated and saving you money at the same time!

“Sustainable Crediton’s Waste Action Group is leading the project in Crediton and has been able to sign up more than a dozen businesses as Refill stations.

“Those taking part will display a blue leaflet in their windows, so I urge everyone to go in and refill their water containers.”

Sustainable Crediton member Imogan May said, as a concerned parent, that there are health issues from using plastic water bottles because plastic from the bottles can leak into the water contained inside.

She suggested that the public buy stainless steel water bottles suitable for refilling.

Sustainable Crediton WAG co-ordinator, Esther Mann, said: “We are really pleased that so many businesses and shops have signed up to the scheme.

“More businesses are invited to sign up to the scheme and are invited to get in touch.”

There are more than 1,600 Refill stations across the UK and more are being added every day.

Further details can be found on the website: www.refill.org.uk .

There is also a mobile telephone app which tells people where to find a Refill station, which can be obtained at: www.refill.org.uk/get-the-refill-app/ .

Refill is a national project run by City to Sea (www.refill.org ), and Devon County Council run the Refill Devon part of the scheme (www.recycledevon.org/welcome-to-refill-devon ).

Refill Devon says that plastic pollution is damaging the health of our oceans.

It says: “From plankton to pilot whales, algae to albatross ? no ocean life remains free from the effects of plastic waste … it’s even found in the seafood we eat.

“It’s been dubbed as ‘one of the most serious emerging threats to marine biodiversity,’ by the Convention on Biological Diversity and between eight and 12 million metric tons of plastic end up in our oceans each year – more than 80 per cent of it coming from land-based sources.

“The main contributor is larger plastic litter, including everyday items such as drinks bottles and other types of plastic packaging, as well as sewage-related debris, such as cotton buds, wet wipes, sanitary waste and microbeads.

“A million plastic bottles are bought around the world every minute and it’s predicted that figure will rise by another 20 per cent by 2021. However global efforts to collect and recycle the bottles to keep them from polluting the oceans, are just not keeping up.

“Here in the UK, the average household uses 480 plastic bottles a year, but only recycles 270 of them – meaning nearly half (44 per cent) are NOT put in the recycling.

“This means that nationally, of the more than 35 million plastic bottles being used every day in the UK, nearly 16 million plastic bottles aren’t being put out for recycling.

“If just one in 10 Brits refilled once a week, we’d have 340 million less plastic bottles a year in circulation!”

Sustainable Crediton’s mission is to help people in Crediton and the local area to lead more sustainable lifestyles and work towards a carbon neutral future.

It says it sees a positive future where people value and respect the environment and understand the need to conserve the natural world and its finite resources.

It invites new members to join to help it to ensure Crediton remains a place to be proud to live or work in.

Further details can be found at: www.sustainablecrediton.org.uk .